Central High
by FMAlchemist96
Summary: Winry Rockbell has moved to Central, where she meets a strange boy in a coffee shop. Modern FMA HS story. I suck at summaries. R&R! T for later chapters. AU
1. Chapter 1: Ed's emo?

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I uploaded, but believe itor not, I _have_ been working hard. This was an idea I had based on an ATLA story I wrote a year ago. I decided to do an FMA version. enjoy!

FMA belongs to the cow

"If you're trying to be emo, your hair kinda cancels it out, you know."

Winry Rockbell was in no sense shy. Sometimes that had gotten her into trouble, but she didn't care much. Her main goal for her 'new self' in her new town was to be different. She no longer cared for anyone's opinion of her. That had gotten her into personal trouble at her old school.

The boy she'd been speaking to looked up at her, slightly ticked.

"And you are?"

Winry smiled.

"I'm Winry. What about you, emo wannabe?"

The boy grunted. This girl, Winry, had already gotten on his nerves and he'd only known her for a couple of minutes. He usually would walk away, not wanting to associate with such an annoying person, but for some reason, he couldn't move.

"Edward. No, not that gay ass sparkly vampire. And I'm _not_ emo."

Winry sat in the chair across from Edward.

"Well, that's pretty debatable. Hair aside, anyway. You're wearing all black and you're sulking," Winry peeked into Edward's coffee cup, "And you're drinking your coffee black."

What was _with_ this girl?

"So, all that automatically makes me emo, huh? Open your eyes; I've got a red jacket. Plus, there's plenty of non-emo people who drink their coffee black. I'm not sulking, either." Every passing second, this girl kept getting to Edward. He didn't know how she did it. A total stranger, so annoying, so _strange_… yet, Edward felt it was impossible to walk away.

"Well, you're sitting here, alone, and scowling, plus you're glaring at the table."

"Geez, what's with you?"

"What do you mean?"

Edward sighed. Not only did he see Winry as annoying but now he saw her as very stupid.

"You're a total stranger and asking me way too many questions." Edward took in Winry's appearance. She was no doubt beautiful, what with her ocean blue eyes, long shiny blonde hair, and curvaceous build. Edward blushed and quickly averted his gaze. "So uh, you live in Central?"

"I actually just moved here from Resembool."

"Y-you like Central, then?"

_Great, now I'm reduced to a stuttering idiot…_ Edward thought.

"Yeah. It's way bigger. Back home, the population was only about 200."

Edward's jaw dropped.

"Seriously? Central's got that times a thousand at_ least_!"

"I've noticed that."

"So how old are you?"

"17, how about you?"

Edward hesitated.

_Here come short cracks…_

"Same."

Winry did nothing to hide her amusement. She erupted in laughter.

"You look like a 6th grader!"

Edward stood and slammed his palms onto the table.

"Who you calling' a half-size bean sprout midget?"

"I never said that!"

"Yeah, well," Edward slipped his jacket on, "I'd better be going. Teacher will kill me if I'm late to dinner again."

"'_teache_r'? What happened to your parents?"

"I'll save that story for next time."

Winry cocked an eyebrow.

"'_Next time_', huh? Who says I want to see you again?"

Edward palmed his neck nervously.

"Uhm, well, if you want to know, you'll come back here at 11 tomorrow."

Like it? I hate some later chapters wirtten, but they need edited. I'll upload a ton this week, since I don't have school. I'll upload way more often when I get my laptop for my promo present in May! Reviews are appreciated! Especially constructive criticism!

~Danielle


	2. Chapter 2: Their stories

I might update this later today if I have time. Thanks to the reviewers!

* * *

Winry walked into the coffee shop. She already liked Central better than Resembool; Central's weather suited her better. Winry surveyed the shop, not seeing Ed anywhere.

_Typical_

Winry went to the counter and bought herself a hot chocolate, deciding to wait for a while. The minutes ticked by slowly, soon it was 11:45. Sighing, Winry threw away her cup and started for the door, only to run into none other than Edward.

"Where have you been?"

"Errands."

"You said to meet you here at 11. It's 11:45."

Edward grinned.

"I know."

"What the hell, then?"

"Hey, you wanted to know my story, right?"

Winry nodded.

"Then you'd have waited for me. It's as simple as that." Edward said matter-of-factly.

Winry frowned.

"Well, _that's _a nice thing to do," she remarked sarcastically.

"Well, I never said I was a nice guy," Edward countered. "Come on, I'm here now, might as well get on with it."

"My dad left my brother, my mom, and I when we were little. We picked up on his chemistry research. Al and I liked it mainly because it made Mom smile; she rarely did that after he left. Not long after, my mom got sick. Really sick. Apparently she had this disease; decided not to tell anybody." Edward's voice cracked. "There was nothing we could do."

"I-"

"That's not really the worst part. Al and I, we had this crazy6 idea that we could bring Mom back with science. We thought science was the answer to everything back then. We were wrong. The basement became an all out lab. We had loads of experiments. Little did we know, the components to the human body, our blood, and the little mixture we prepared didn't mix." Edward rolled up his sleeve, revealing a shiny metal arm.

"This blew off in the explosion, so did my leg. As for Al, he had to be in a full body cast for a really long time. He just got out in eighth grade."

Winry studied Ed's arm in awe.

"So there's my story. What about yours? Why'd you move here?"

"Well, first of all, you really need maintenance."

"How would you now?"

"My grandmother's an auto mail engineer. So am I."

"No way!" Edward stared in disbelief.

"Yup. Anyway, that's one of the reasons we moved here. Granny moved her shop from Resembool to here."

"So what's the other reason?" Edward questioned.

"Granny wanted to get away. She said living at home brought back so many painful memories, she couldn't take it anymore. My parents died in the civil war."

"Kinda in the same situation, then, huh?"

Winry shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

"So you have any brothers or sisters?"

Winry shook her head.

"Just me."

"So are you going to go to Central high?" Edward asked.

"Where else would I go?" Winry asked.

"Well, there's Central prep, and then Central Academy, you know."

"Oh. So where do you go?"

"Good ol' Central high."

"Oh geez,"

Edward frowned, '_She think I'm a cocky-_

"Well, there goes my looking forward to Central high…"

"And what the hell's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Well I _was_ excited, "Winry began.

"Then…."

"I found out you went there." Winry stared at Edward with a blank expression. Edward furrowed his eyebrows together and blushed. Winry laughed aloud.

"You thought I was serious?"

"Well," Ed admitted, "Yeah. You seemed pretty serious to me."

"Why, were you disappointed?"

Edward fumbled his fingers around avoiding Winry's gaze.

"N-no…well, yeah, I guess. Sort of."

"Well, Granny will kill me if I'm not back soon. I'm already half an hour over on break. See you at school tomorrow?"

Edward nodded slightly.

"Yeah, see you."

* * *

Mustang, Hawkeye and all those good people will come in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3: Meet the President

I would have updated this sooner, but I was playing Modern Warfare...:) anyway, I know this is short, but...

ENJOY!

Winry clutched her books to her chest as she marveled at the sheer size of Central High. CHS was easily 5 times the size of Resembool high. It was like the Taj Mahal compared to the 95-student RHS. Winry's thoughts were interrupted as a tall girl with blonde hair pulled back neatly approached her.

"I'm assuming you're Winry."

"Yes. H-how did you know?"

The girl sighed.

"I know almost everything that goes on here. I'm Riza Hawkeye, personal assistant to the student body president."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"Roy, the president, Breda, Falman, Fuery, Havoc, Hughes, and the Elrics should be here soon."

Winry, who at this point was completely lost, merely nodded.

"Don't worry, you'll catch on soon. Just be sure to stay as far away from the Homunculis(A/N: I purposely spelled it this way, I know it's Homunculus/Homunculi) siblings. Tyson, Alexia, Seth, Brad, Tina, Braxton, and Ronnie."

"Are they all the same age?" Winry asked.

"No, Tyson, Alexi, Seth and Brad are in our class, Tina and Braxton are Juniors, and Ronnie's a freshman."

"Oh, talking about them, are you?"

Winry watched as a teen with untidy black hair walked up. He had charcoal eyes, and Winry got the impression that he was important.

"Hey Roy." Riza said, "This is Winry,"

Roy nodded.

"Yeah, saw her in the office." Roy stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you."

Roy turned to Riza, scratching his head.

"Have you seen Ed or Al?"

_Didn't Ed say his brother's name was Al? _Winry asked herself.

"Right here, hot head."

Winry turned to see Edward and a boy with short brown hair, eyes a soft grey. Ed was dressed in his usual black, with a red jacket. His brother wore jeans and a light blue polo.

"Ed,"

"Winry," Edward breathed.

Roy smiled.

"Oh, Eddy have a girlfriend?" Roy snickered, earning Riza's elbow in his ribs.

Edward glared dangerously at Roy, who smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

"Come on, Riza. Let's leave Ed to it." This time, Roy was ready and dodged Riza's elbow.

* * *

"So how's life?" Edward asked nervously.

"Pretty good. You?"

"Same. Winry, don't get me wrong. I like you, I really do. But… just stay away, I'm not the kind of guy you'd want to be around."

"And why is that?" Winry asked, voice steadily rising.

"I'd better go."

"Ed, wait!"

Edward didn't look back. Winry blew her hair out of her face, looking at a map Riza had given her and hurried to her first class.


	4. Chapter 4: Winry's a therapist

Again, I might be able to update early friday afternoon, but I'm not. If not, I'll update in mid-december!

* * *

"Oh, Ed's like that. It takes him a while, but he comes around." Riza said after hearing Winry's tale.

"Eventually," Roy added.

The group sat at their lunch table, engaging in their usual, useless chatter.

"I swear, Gracia's gotta be the hottest girl at this school!" Maes chirped happily.

"So why's Ed even like that?" Winry questioned.

"Thinks he's got commitment issues."

"Well…Does he?"

Riza shook her head.

"He's better than this lazy bum," Riza said, jabbing her thumb in Roy's direction. Roy, who had been making his mashed potatoes into a volcano, looked up lazily.

"Me, really? I thought we knew each other better than that!"

"Hey, Winry, could you go talk to Ed?" al asked.

"Speaking of the little guy, where is he?" Breda asked.

"Found him," Havoc answered. "Big shock, wee wittle Elric's sulking."

Eight heads turned to the direction in which Havoc was pointing. Winry noticed that Ed looked like he did in the coffee shop, only more…distressed?

"Why me? You're his brother. He hardly knows me, anyway."

"Ed's been out of it. I have him in chemistry and he wasn't paying attention. Chem.'s his favorite class, too." Roy said.

"Well, I- what's that got to do with me? "

"It was after he talked to you."

"Well, I guess I could."

Winry approached Edward, who was looking more down than ever.

"If you're trying to be emo, your hair kinda cancels it out, you know."

"I thought I said to stay away." Edward mumbled.

"Too bad, I'm not that great of a listener."

"Yay," Edward said sarcastically.

"What's up with you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward asked.

"Roy said you were out of it."

"Oh," Edward snorted, "Getting chummy with that bastard, huh?"

"No. But seriously Ed, what's up?"

"I thought you said you weren't a good listener."

Winry smiled.

"Oh, the art of selective hearing. When someone tells me to do something, I usually won't do it."

Edward rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"You come off as a cheery therapist type person to me. Kinda bad ass."

"Is that good?"

"I think so. Too many people care what people think of them. You're different that way."

An awkward silence spanned a few moments, until Ed broke it.

"You have a date for homecoming?"

"First day here, smart one."

"SO? Some guy could've asked you. Surprised Havoc hasn't."

"Well, no one has."

"Wanna go? With me?"

"Funny, I thought you said to stay away."

"Funny," Edward repeated, "I thought you didn't listen to what people tell you to do."

"Well, you don't seem like the type to go to dances."

"Damn, woman! You're making up excuses. And why not? It's senior year, might as well make the most of it. Besides, now this school has a legit girl to go with."

Winry's cheeks flushed.

"So what do you say? Gonna go or not?"

"I don't see why not."

Edward pumped his fist.

"Advantage Elric!"

* * *

"So? What happened?" Riza questioned.

The group sat in a nearby diner. For her first day, Winry felt she'd done well.

"Ed asked me to homecoming."

"Seriously? Ed's _never_ asked a girl out, much less gone on a date." Havoc said, lighting a cigarette.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Speaking of which, we're going, right, Riza?"

Riza sipped her coke.

"What makes you think I haven't already been asked?"

Roy's face turned a deep shade of red as he stood.

"Who asked, 'cause I _swear_, I'll-"

"Relax," Riza smiled, "I was only joking."

* * *

oh, the joys of adding Royai at last! Reviews are loved! They make me wanna type more, which is hard to make me do... not exactly sure how much more I'll add, i"ve got another 3 chapters at least that are written, so that's good. (Right?)


	5. Chapter 5: Game Day

I was inspired by… well… playing the game. I thought it'd add a little humor, just some everyday stuff, so I decided to add. Hope it doesn't suck as bad as I think it does! I don't own COD or FMA

Edward sat in his room, playing Modern Warfare against Alphonse, beating him considerably.

"Come on brother; let me have just _one_ kill!"

"Why, lil bro? It wouldn't count if I just _gave_ it to you!" Edward laughed.

"Modern Warfare, huh? Lame."

Edward snapped his head in the direction of the speaker. He was surprised to see Winry, but not displeased.

"Excuse me?"

"Ed, Black Ops came out on the ninth, and before that MW2, and World at War. And you're stuck with MW?"

"Hey, I like to keep it classic."

"You couldn't get off your ass long enough to keep a job, could you?" Winry asked knowingly.

"Nah. Too much work. Besides this _is_ my job."

"Good thing I have a steady job then, isn't it?"

Winry pulled a copy of the newest in the Call of Duty series from her purse. Both Edward and Alphonse's eyes widened.

"You…you can cook, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Marry me, will you? You don't even have to stay here, just come over make food and keep the game here."

"Please Ed, I few did get married, I'd I live with you. That way I could kick your ass at COD every day."

"What? You think you can beat _me_?"

"No. I _know_ I can."

Edward looked Winry up and down.

"Fine, winner buys lunch." He said.

Winry snatched Al's controller.

"Hey! Al should be able to play!" Edward argued.

"No, no. I'm fine watching, Brother." Alphonse interrupted.

"I hope you have enough to buy us all lunch, Ed!"

"I… I can't believe I lost!"

"I can. Winry nabbed you in seconds!"

"Oh, shut _up, _Al! You didn't beat me once! It was just a fluke. I mean, a _gir_l can't beat _me_!"

"Well, my sexist friend, a _girl_ just beat your ass. Let's go get lunch." Winry stuck out her hands to help the Elrics up.

"Olive Garden sounds good. Orange Leaf afterward." Alphonse said.

"Careful Al," Winry warned, "Choose somewhere cheap or _we'll_ end up footing the bill."

Bah! I know this is short, but hey, it's something! Reviews are appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6: Secrets

Edward stared at Winry, breathless. She stood wearing (okay, please don't kill me with my description, I'm really bad at describing dresses…considering I don't even own one…) an ocean blue dress, matching her eyes perfectly.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"n-no, I uh just…nothing."

Winry shrugged nonchalantly.

"Whatever."

_She looks amazing…._

"Winry?"

"Yeah?"

"A-after homecoming and all, uh, y-you think you wanna go out?"

"Sure. Sounds fun. But why wait till _after _homecoming?"

_Great. She reduces me to a stuttering idiot, how? Aw hell, what do I care? She said yeah._

"Yeah, Roy and Riza were on a _strictly platonic_ relationship."

"So what happened?"

"Late night study session." Edward laughed.

"Isn't she _living_ with him?"

"Yeah. They've known each other since sixth grade."

"Riza's parents don't care?"

"Her mom died when she was young. Not much her dad can do; she's 18. So, what about you? I know

you've got a life story."

"Not really. I was born in Resembool, lived there until a couple of weeks ago. My parents died when I was little. Since then, I was raised by my Grandma. She trained me as an automail engineer, and there you go." She said, somewhat bitterly.

"What's up? Don't pass it off as nothing, because it clearly is. You're never in a bad mood."

"_Ed, she may seem happy on the outside, but she could be dying in the inside, you remember that."_

"_But Teacher, how the hell am I supposed to be able to tell?"_

"_Believe me, Ed. You'll know."_

"Come on, Win. You can tell me, you should know that."

Tears rolled down Winry's face as she shook her head. Ed pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back in attempt to soothe her.

"Never keep secrets Ed, they eat away at you."

_So now _she_ can't keep secrets from _me_? I guess that's a good thing…_

Edward patiently waited for Winry to continue. (That's a first.)

"When I was five, my parents went out with one of their friends. She had a 10 year old son, his dad walked out or she adopted him. Something like that. Anyway, he was supposed to babysit me, but," Winry hesitated. "That's not all he did."

"Oh God, Winry,"

"I didn't know what he was doing; what I was doing! You think I wanted that to happen? To be haunted by this?"

"I didn't mean it like that. What happened to him? Did you tell your parents?"

"No. I wanted to, when I was 18… and as you can well see, that isn't happening."

"Did you tell Granny?"

Winry shook her head.

"Granny's old. She couldn't take it, Ed."

"13 years… this secret's been killing me. So, still want to date me?"

"Yeah. More than ever. What that bastard of a kid did, he took away a little girl's innocence. I'm here for you."

Winry mumbled something Ed couldn't understand.

"What?"

"I don't know if he _got _to me, if that's what you're wondering."

"Winry, I wasn't thinking that. And in that sense, I wouldn't care. Sure, I wanna go find him with an AK-47, but for the first time in my life, I'm going to keep my cool. I used to have nothing to lose, now I have everything to lose, you know?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

So there you go, chapter 6. Yeah, Winry's incident IS real, sadly. *shakes head* All of it, minus the death of parents. And Ed (cry, cry). Well, I updated sooner than expected, my mom isn't home. She has NO idea I write, much less post the stories here. So basically, whenever I'm home alone, I'll update or work on the story. I always write a hard copy before typing, and when I type, I edit. So yeah… review please!


	7. Chapter 7: Eyelashes and talented asses

It's only Monday, and this week seems promising. Even so, updates between now and break could become scarce. I wanna clear some things up. Winry was molested. She isn't sure if the guy 'got to her', so she MAY have been raped. Just clearing that up. Sorry if I confused you. I didn't want to stop with a sad chapter, so here's some comic relief! By the way…Wendy's changed their fries…they're good now…just sayin…

* * *

Ed carefully brought a thumb to Winry's eye.

"Eyelash." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Winry stared, unable to find the breath within herself to blow it away. After what seemed like an eternity, she found what little breath she could and gently blew.

"Thanks."

Winry pecked Ed on the cheek before retreating into her house, leaving him standing, blushing…

* * *

"See? My ass is talented, Winry." Ed was sitting on the handlebars of his bike with no idea whatsoever of where he was going. A week had passed since homecoming, Winry and Ed spent much of their time together.

"Ed, ride the right way!" Winry sighed.

"No! I'm perfectly fine, woman!"

"Then don't expect _me_ to help when you fall!"

"Jeez, Winry! Stop worrying so much! I'm not gon-" As if on cue, Ed's 'talented ass' lost control and he was flung at a tree.

"Ed! Are you okay?"

"What happened to 'don't expect me to help when you fall'?" Edward mocked.

"Fine. I'll just go then… if you're sure you're okay…"

"No! I never said I was okay! I obviously am NOT okay! I was flung into this damn tree!"

"I meant, is anything broken?"

"Actually, my-"

"Other than your pride, Ed."

"I think I broke my wrist, thanks for letting me finish!" Edward yelled.

"Fine. Let me see."

"I dunno if it's broken, but it hurts like hell."

Winry's eyebrows furrowed together as she examined Edward's mangled wrist.

"It's broken, alright. Let me call Al, he can come get us."

"You don't need to call Al! I can ride my bike perfectly well with my automail arm!"

"Oh, like you could ride 'perfectly well with your talented ass'? And with your automail that jams up all the time? You forget; my parents were doctors. Riding in that condition, especially with that arm, will increase your chances of getting hurt even more."

Before the now prideless (I made that up…) Edward could argue, Winry took out her cell phone and quickly dialed the younger Elric's number.

"Al? Can you come pick us up? Ed, being reckless, broke his wrist. We're at 13th."

"Ed was riding with his so called 'talented ass' again, wasn't he?"

"So he's done it before?"Winry glared at Edward, who was finding his misshapen wrist to be funny.

"What? Last time I only sprained my ankle!"

* * *

Sooner than it seemed, Edward's 18th birthday had come. He was apprehensive when Winry told him that she had a surprise for him; curious when she blindfolded him.

"Are we in your basement? Smells like oil."

"Good job, Ed! I'll be sure to give you a sucker when you're done!" Winry said sarcastically.

"Can I at least take this damned blindfold off yet?" Edward asked, pointing at the black bandana covering his eyes.

"No. Now strip down to your boxers."

"_What?_"

"You heard me, Ed. Strip down to your boxers!"

Ed smirked and obeyed.

"So will I like my present?"

"Yes."

"So…how big is it?"

"Pretty big."

"Is it nice?"

"You sure as hell better think so." Winry said.

"Come _on! _I suck with patience! Just let me peek!"

"Edward, if you're thinking what I _think_ you are, I'll-"

"G-_Granny_? How long have you been there?" Ed asked weakly.

"The whole time."

"Damn it! I forgot my wrench, be right back!" Winry said, running back up the creaky steps.

"Edward…what do you plan on doing with your life?"

"Graduate, go to college, graduate again, make sure I have steady career; probably in some sort of chemistry. Maybe a doctor. Then, uhm, m-marry Winry."

"Good, good." Pinako said. "You know how Winry feels about you, don't you?"

"Yeah. And I feel the same way."

Pinako shook her head.

"Ever since Urey and Sara's deaths, Winry's been depressed. Never thought I'd see her truly smile again."

"Ready, Ed?" Winry returned, lethal weapon in hand.

"You got your wrench…right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You don't plan on hitting me, do you?"

"Not unless you squirm. Now sit."

Edward gulped and obeyed.

"Ready, Granny?"

"You didn't plan a party, did you I hate surprises! Especially when I'm in my boxers! Unless…you know, but that's different!"

Edward yelped as his automail arm and leg were removed.

"Oh, cutting off my means of escape, huh? Clever! But I can still-"

Edward screamed as the nerves connected to his body, sending shockwaves.

"That hurt like hell? What do you think you're doing?" Edward yelped. With his flesh hand, he removed his blindfold. He stared in awe at the shiny new arm and leg attached to his body.

"What's this?"

"Your birthday present."

"This is amazing! I can actually move! I haven't seen any automail like this…"

"Only kind in existence. Winry designed it herself and made it from scratch." Pinako said, taking a long draw from her pipe as the climbed up the stairs.

"R-really?" For me?"

Winry nodded sheepishly.

"I reinforced it with carbon. I know how rough you get."

"How long?"

"Oh, I don't know… Since I met you in the coffee shop. Since you said you went to Central, I didn't think there'd be any trouble finding you. I couldn't help it; your old automail gave me a headache with the condition it was in."

"Damn you're good. You and Granny have anything planned for tonight?"

Winry shook her head.

"Good. You're coming to meet Teacher."

* * *

WOOHOO! Long chapter in! Hope I made you laugh; either with Ed's 'talented ass' or the basement-surprise thing. No? Not much of a surprise, my sense of humor's bad. Not as bad as my religion teacher's…but oh well. So, as always, review! You're opinions are loved, even if you totally hate it! I LOVE CC! Haven't gotten any on this as far as I know, so I guess that's good, but still! From here… not sure… I want to make it into ten chapters, so a couple more things and I'll be good. I feel like between this and Hurt and Compassion (Check it out if you haven't already...) I'm making Winry weak. I'm not doing this on purpose; she's one of my top three favorite characters! Second to Hawkeye, of course. Again, if I wasn't clear, Roy and Riza ARE together, and I plan on adding more of their moments. I'm planning on adding some Havxbecca, but I may not have enough time… Anyway, since I'm paranoid on giving out my facebook, I made a page. I'll update that more than I'll update this, so here's link!

.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/FMAlchemist96/135350799853480

Like me! If you don't, Ed will kill you! lol


	8. Chapter 8: Facebook

Okay… due to a super-creative mood these past few days, I can tell you that this will be longer than ten chapters. I know exactly what I'm getting for Christmas this year, and I'm super excited for it and all, but you guys may not be. I'm getting a guitar, and thanks to , I'm going to mainly self-teach and be watching those vids a ton, which means not many updates. But between now and Christmas, I'll update as often as possible. Hurt and Compassion is done, as is Equivalent Exchange. This on the other hand…not so much. I'm also working on some Ben 10 and Tower Prep fics! Since the link to my Facebook page keeps messing up, you can find it on my profile!

And now, without further ado…chapter 8!

Winry watched her breath escape in a fog. Central was cold in the winter. It was way colder than she was used to, coming from Resembool. The freshly fallen snow crunched under her boots. Winry smelled cookies baking as she walked into her house. She hung her scarf and coat before heading into the kitchen.

"You're a great cook, Ms. Rockbell!"

"Thank you, Alphonse."

Edward sat stuffing his face with cookies, ignoring the glass of milk that had been placed in front of him.

"Honestly, Brother. Could you be any ruder?"

"I'm not being rude. I'm eating, aren't I?" Edward asked, crumbs spewing everywhere.

"Well, save some for Winry!" Alphonse yelled.

"No way! She can eat them whenever! We, on the other hand, rarely come over."

"Ed, you come over all the time." Winry pointed out, entering the kitchen. "Al's the one who rarely visits."

"Same difference." Edward stood. "Come on, we gotta talk."

Pinako smiled as the two headed out into the hall. She cursed when she burned her hand on the cookie sheet. Alphonse happily gulped his milk and helped himself to another delicious cookie.

"Winry, we've only been together since the beginning of October, but I uh," Edward blushed.

"What? Come on, tell me."

Edward closed his eyes and thrust a key into Winry's hand.

"What's this?"

"A key."

"Really? It looked like a banana to me." Winry said. "Really, what's it for?"

"My apartment. Well, our apartment."

"O-our? Ed, we're still in school."

"And? Half the time, I'm either over here, or you're at Teacher's house." Edward reasoned.

"But Granny…"

"Don't worry, I okay-ed it with the old bat. Now I just have to okay it with you."

Winry shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Hey Ed, do you have any-" Winry smiled to herself at the sight of Edward fast asleep. She got up and grabbed a blue blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over his peaceful body.

Winry took the remote from Edward and flipped it to TBS.

"_You'll shoot your eye out!"_

"Winry? Win!"

"So you're finally awake?"

Edward turned his head to the other end of the couch, spotting Winry with a bowl of popcorn. He threw the blanket off and tackled her, spilling the snack in the process.

"Ed!"

"Hey, I was trying to get some. It's not my fault you spilled it!" Edward smiled and reached for the blanket, draping it over his and Winry's body.

When Winry tried to stand, Edward latched his arms around her waist.

"Ed, let go!"

"No!"

He underestimated her strength. She got to her feet and Edward fell to the floor, pulling Winry with him.

Winry, who was on top of Edward, lost herself in his golden eyes, Edward got lost in Winry's ocean blue ones.

"Make me hot cocoa?"

"You are the laziest guy I've ever met!"

"Am not! You've met Mustang!"

"Come on, Winry! What the hell's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Winry threw the sheets off and grabbed her laptop on her way to the living room. She logged onto facebook, knowing that the person she needed to talk to would be the only one on at three A.M.

'Becca, Ed has no idea how much I love him.'

'Then tell him, problem solved. Is that really what's wrong?'

'No, it isn't.'

'Then what is it? It isn't anything stupid, is it?'

'Define stupid.'

'I don't know! Something like thinking he's shallow enough to leave over you not wanting to have sex or something.'

Damn…Becca was good…

'Well, we're living together now…'

'All the more reason for him to _not_ leave! Really Win, that's stupid. I've known Ed for as long as I can remember. He wouldn't leave over something like that! Sure, he's stubborn, but he's not shallow.'

'I don't know…'

'God, Winry! I thought you were smart! He is NOT going to leave over something so…trivial! Especially you!'

'I just don't know, Becca.'

'Trust me! He's totally in love with you! He wouldn't ask a girl out; much less have a girl move in with him before he met you!'

'I know, I just…don't, okay?' Even as Winry typed it, she couldn't make sense of it.

'I'm going to act like that made the tiniest bit of sense, okay? But just so you know, he's probably going to be coming in there soon.'

'Why do you say that?'

'How do you know?'

'He's been texting me. He asked what was wrong, so I told him.'

Damn Becca! She always had to pull crap like that!

'WHAT?'

'He was desperate!'

'Like that's a first?'

'Look, I'm not saying it is. I AM saying that he filled half my inbox asking if I knew what was wrong. Same with Riza. Now, either you go in there and talk to him, or I'll come over and make you.'

'It's 3A.M.'

'So? I'm the only one on anybody's friend list that's on besides you. Coming over wouldn't make a difference to me.'

'Fine.'

Winry logged off and closed her laptop. She sighed, setting it aside and headed back to the bedroom. She knew Rebecca was dead serious.

"Ed?"

"Careful what you say, I might leave." Edward said bitterly.

"Do you know _why _I thought that?"

"'Cause you think I'm shallow?"

"No. I dated a guy freshman year back at Resembool. He left because I wouldn't have sex with him."

"You never told me that." Edward said.

"I'm telling you now."

And there's chapter 8! There's another 3 chaps at least on the way. I have to go to the dentist, so I probably won't update for the rest of today. Look forward to tomorrow!


	9. Chapter 9: Forget Deadlines

Okay…probably the last day for updates this week. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, I have to go to 7pm Mass for nursery, and because I have to actually go to Mass, even though the incense gives me a migraine, I have to go to midnight Mass. Have I mentioned I'm Catholic? Anyway, I would update tomorrow, but like I've said before, my mom has no idea I write… I'm gonna say that this is very early Christmas morning, because TBS airs A Christmas Story for 24 hours starting at 7 Christmas Eve… God, I love that movie!

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, it's not really the kind of conversation that just pops up." Winry said.

"Yeah, but you still could've told me. You told me about the other thing, how's this worse?"

"It's not. It's just not the kind of thing I feel like sharing." Winry stood up. "I'm going to bed."

Edward followed Winry into their room.

"Tired?"

"Ed, it's five A.M. I got up at six yesterday morning. Not tired at all, just cheery."

"Oh. Just wondering."

"Ed, you've been watching the damn movie since they first started airing it. But fine. Just don't turn it up too loud." Winry settled under the covers and Edward turned on the T.V. "We'll talk more when I get up."

(*)

"Winry, what…what was the guy's name?"

"My ex or…"

"The other guy."

"D-Dalton. Why?" Even at the mention of his name, Winry felt nauseous. He'd been like her brother. Growing up without siblings, she relied on her parents' friends' kids. They were all boys, and she'd naturally been a tomboy until she started high school. Winry knew sooner or later, Ed would want to know what happened. Exactly. She was glad he hadn't asked when she'd first told him.

"I know that this is the last thing you want to talk about, but I need to know so I can help."

"I don't need help."

"Yes, you do. Winry, you aren't fine. I know how much of a jackass I can be, you've told me enough times. I really do want to help. Believe me, it's the last thing I want to hear, I'd rather wear a dress or drink milk, but this is the kind of thing I need to know."

"Do I have to go into detail?"

"No."

"Dalton was like my brother. He said it was a game. I had no idea what it was. I didn't until a video my class watched in fourth grade. I went home sick that day. I went into the bathroom, vomited, and got sent home. By that time, he and his mom had moved south. I've no idea where he is."

"So you haven't seen him since?"

"God no."

Edward pulled Winry into a tight hug, feeling as though with each sob, he was dying, with every fallen tear, being stabbed.

"I'm going to find him."

Winry pushed Edward away. Hard.

"No!"

"Do you seriously think I'll just stand by after what he did? He could mess up other little girls if he was that bad as a damn kid! Don't try and say he was just 'experimenting'. A ten year old kid knows what sex is! And By what you said, he had every idea of what it was!"

"It's too late to do anything legal, Ed."

"Since when have deadlines stopped me? My e-mail address is forgetdeadlines for a reason! I don't give a _fuck _that I can't make any legal actions!"

"Ed…no. Just forget it."

"How the hell can you say that? I can never forget what he's done to you! He made you feel screwed up! I can never forgive him for that!"

"You didn't even know him!"

"So? You thought you did! Look where it got you!" Edward erupted. How could she want to forgive that bastard? How could she want Ed to forget it?

Winry stormed out of the small apartment, leaving her coat and purse behind.

(*) (I'm gonna start doing this for breaks, I forget to add them after I upload…)

It was freezing out. Of course, it was the middle of winter. Winry was used to dry winters, but in Central, snow covered the ground. Winry cursed under her breath. She had no money and no phone. She knew she'd have to return sometime, but she needed to stay out to blow off steam. It was only seven, but still dark. Winry jumped when a motorcycle revved behind her.

"Need a ride?"

Winry ignored the man. She didn't recognize him at all, nor did she want to. He was scruffy-looking and just plain creepy.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Winry kept walking. She picked up her pace when the engine stopped.

"Come here!" the man grabbed Winry's arm and threw her against a brick wall.

_It's too dark, no one will see…_

The man thrust his knee into Winry's stomach, making her fall to the ground. He ripped her shirt off, exposing her to the cold. The man pushed her into the snow, laughing.

_Not again…_

"Not my girlfriend, you bastard!"

Edward ran forward and tackled the man off of Winry. Both men threw punch after punch. A particularly hard punch cane into contact with Edward's nose. Ed stumbled back and the man ran off. Winry ran to Edward's side. In the moonlight, she saw blood trickle from his nose. He had a busted lip and a swollen eye as well.

"Are you okay? He didn't…hurt you, did he?"

"No, he didn't. I'm fine, thanks to you."

"Good. Can we go back home now? This is my favorite shirt…I don't want it stained."

Edward picked up Winry's shirt, putting it under his arm and giving her his coat. He put his arm tightly around her on the short journey back to their apartment.

"What made you run after me?"

"You forgot your phone."

(*)

I wrote that yesterday. Originally, Ed wasn't going to run after, and the guy would get to Winry, and she'd get pregnant. I think I'll save that for another story.


	10. Chapter 10: Alt Ch 6

Okay, I just thought of this. Amazing I could, with my writer's block. I'm basically re-writing most of chapter 6. I was thinking about it, and if it was in a real-life situation, this is probably what would happen.

Just to give an idea of what has happened so far: Homecoming's over, Ed and Winry are hanging out at Ed's house. This takes place BEFORE Ed finds out Winry's secret.

Edward and Winry lay on the couch, watching SNL, Edward's favorite show. A month had passed since homecoming, and on many an occasion, Winry's trusty wrench came into contact with Edward's head. Alphonse and his new girlfriend, Mei were in the study, getting ready for an upcoming test.

"I don't see how Janet Jackson's so popular. She can't sing or act. Michael's just creepy." Winry said, pointing at the screen. (Sorry if you're a fan of the Jacksons…I'm not. And I'm not trying to be insensitive, I know MJ's dead. But he just creeps me out.)

"The Jacksons were a musical _dynasty_!"

"So? Ed, you hate pop." Winry sat up.

"No denying the facts of life though, Win. Get me a coke?"

"Get it yourself, I'm no slave."

Edward latched his arms around Winry's waist and pulled her to the floor laughing. She was lying on her stomach; Ed was on top of her.

"Come on, pleeeaaassseee?"

Winry's eyes were sealed. She gritted her teeth and was breathing heavily.

"What? I'm not _that_ heavy!"

"No, not again!" Winry shrieked. She started to sob; Edward rolled off and sat her up.

"Winry? Winry, what's wrong?" She was screaming; Edward was worried. He'd never seen her like this.

Alphonse and Mei ran downstairs.

"Brother! What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Edward stared at Winry frantically. "Win…"

"Get away from me! Not…not again!"

"Win! It's me, it's Ed." Edward tried soothing her. He cupped his hand on her cheek and rubbed his hand over her back in soothing circles.

Winry looked into his eyes and flung into a hug.

"Hey, it's okay, just calm down." Edward looked to his brother for help, but Al only shrugged.

"Ed, don't let it happen again…"

"Don't let what happen again, Win?"

"_Ed, she may seem happy on the outside, but she could be dying in the inside, you remember that."_

"_But Teacher, how the hell am I supposed to be able to tell?"_

"_Believe me, Ed. You'll know."_

"Come on, Win. You can tell me, you should know that."

Tears rolled down Winry's face as she shook her head. Ed pulled her into another hug, rubbing her back in attempt to soothe her.

"Never keep secrets Ed, they eat away at you."

_So now _she_ can't keep secrets from _me_? I guess that's a good thing…_

Edward patiently waited for Winry to continue. He'd only known her a few months, but he'd never seen her so distraught. He hated it. (That's a first.)

"When I was five, my parents went out with one of their friends. She had a 10 year old son, his dad walked out or she adopted him. Something like that. Anyway, he was supposed to babysit me, but," Winry hesitated. "That's not all he did. He was like my brother. I trusted him."

"Oh God, Winry,"

"I didn't know what he was doing; what I was doing! You think I wanted that to happen? To be haunted by this?"

"I didn't mean it like that. What happened to him? Did you tell your parents?"

"No. I wanted to, when I was 18… and as you can well see, that isn't happening."

"Did you tell Granny?"

Winry shook her head.

"Granny's old. She couldn't take it, Ed."

"13 years… this secret's been killing me. So, still want to date me?"

"Yeah. More than ever. What that bastard of a kid did, he took away a little girl's innocence. I'm here for you."

Winry mumbled something Ed couldn't understand.

"What?"

"I don't know if he _got _to me, if that's what you're wondering."

"Winry, I wasn't thinking that. And in that sense, I wouldn't care. Sure, I wanna go find him with an AK-47, but for the first time in my life, I'm going to keep my cool. I used to have nothing to lose, now I have everything to lose, you know?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

"Good. We should go check with Al and Mei. They're worried."

Edward stood, helping Winry up with him.

(*)

Oh shit…this kinda messes up the 'talented ass' thing… oh well…tell me what you think of this version of Chapter 6! Or most of it, anyway…


	11. Chapter 11: Meet the Fockers

Today, I just feel like typing, and I don't know why. This chapter is back on track, taking place after chapter nine. If I confused anybody, chapter 10 was a rewrite of chapter 6. It's another version of it and hasn't got anything to do with the current timeline.

(*)

Winry stood on a street corner. Ed was late. Again. He was supposed to pick her up from the gym, and her car was at Pinako's, where she'd been working on it.

_You take the breath right out of me, you left a hole where my heart should be, You've gotta fight just to make it through, 'cause I will be the death of you_

Winry fumbled around her bag for her phone. There was a picture of Ed stuffing his face with a slice of apple pie. He'd set that as his caller ID so that if he'd called and she was pissed, Winry would remember that Ed wasn't _always_ a stupid jackass.

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm turning onto Rock. You?"

"Well, _dear, _I'm waiting for you to pick me up!"

"Oh shit…I forgot…Okay, the gym is at Rock and 21st, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, there should be a shop right at the corner, it'll say MEAT. There's a tan house next to it. You see it?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Winry spat.

"Chill! Just go on in, I'll be there soon."

"Bu-"

"Just trust me!"

Before Winry could argue any further, Edward hung up. Winry sighed and looked at the small home. It wasn't that bad looking, she wouldn't have minded living there herself.

Winry walked up to the door and knocked. A fierce-looking woman answered moments later, drying her hands with a towel.

_Oh, why didn't I just wait for Ed?_

"Uh, I-"

"Are you Winry?"

Winry furrowed her brows together. How'd this lady know who she was?

"Yeah. Not to be rude or anything, but how do you know?"

The woman cocked an eyebrow.

"You _are _Edward Elric's girlfriend, right?"The last thing she needed was to get this wrong. Ed had really improved on is fighting skills. He'd soon surpass her…

Winry nodded and the woman smiled.

"Izumi Curtis. Ed's shown countless pictures, I'd feel really stupid if I'd been wrong."

Izumi didn't seem like Ed had described her.

"_She's a madwoman! She'd attack me in my sleep, or while eating or doing homework!"_

"_Come on, Ed! She can't be that bad!"_

"_You don't know Izumi Curtis!"_

The front door opened and Ed walked in. He looked from Izumi to Winry and smiled. He put his arm around Winry and tried to lead her into the kitchen, but was stopped by Izumi.

"It's about time you brought a girl home, Ed."

"Well, Win and her grandma were going to come over on my birthday, but something came up."

"First girl you've brought home. She's pretty, too." Mason walked in and winked at Winry.

"Yeah, Mason, she's the _only girl_ I've dated. You guys think I'm like Mustang or something? Give us some damn space!"

"Brother, calm down!" Al looked over the back of the couch. Next to him was Mei.

"When did you two get here? What, is everyone we know coming tonight?"

"No, this is it." Izumi glared at Ed. "Mei, Winry, why don't you come help me in the kitchen?"

The girls followed Izumi into the kitchen, Mason trailing behind them.

"Notice how nice Teacher is when Win and Mei are around…" Edward whispered to his brother.

"What was that, you ungrateful-"

"Nothing, Teacher!" Edward sang.

"Ed," Winry asked later that night, "That isn't where-"

"Oh. After I moved out, Teacher moved to a smaller house."

(*)

Edward remembered when Izumi had first found out about Winry. It wasn't when Winry had come over for the first time, Izumi was gone that day. Edward and Winry had been at the movies, and he came back home, trying to hide, as Mustang would call it, his badge of honor. Sure, it wouldn't last forever, but in the short amount of time it would last, it could put him through hell. If Izumi found out, that is.

Edward was almost in the clear. He'd gotten halfway up the stairs, halfway to his room before Izumi's screech filled the house.

"EDWARD ELRIC! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!"

_Shit…_

"Now, I'm going to try and give you a chance to explain yourself before I cut a very important part of you off."

Edward cringed. This was NOT how he'd planned on her finding out…

"I was with Winry…"

"With WHO?"

"My girlfriend!" Edward had expected Izumi's expression to soften. It didn't.

"EDWARD YOU CAN'T GO AROUND, PLAYING WITH GIRLS LIKE THAT! WHAT IF SHE GETS PREGNANT, YOU IDIOT?"

" SO WHAT IF SHE DOES, TEACHER?" Ed ward bellowed. "THIS ISN'T JUST SOME STUPID HIGH SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP! SHE GETS PREGNANT, I'M STICKING AROUND!"

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, EDWARD!"

"YES I DO!"

That was the day Edward had decided to get an apartment. He got a job at a bookstore, saved up some money, and rented a fairly nice place.

(*)

And another chapter today! I'm very pleased…Yeah…Win's legit…her ringtone is Breath by Breaking Benjamin, therefore, she is legit!


	12. Chapter 12: SelfMutilation and College

YAY! I had a nice Christmas… and I have learned to play Wake Me up When September Ends. I taught myself! I'm going to try and update everything today, which is only like 2 stories now, but I thought of some one-shots, and I'll add those. This is kinda a filler chap, because I need to give a little time in between this and chapter 9. So, the next chapter will be a better one…I hope…

(*)

"Hey, you have multiple ear piercings." Edward rested his head on his hands. He was watching the magic of the 'creation' of food. Better yet, an apple pie. Winry's pies were like a bit of heaven, as if Ed believed in any of that crap.

"Did you really just notice that?"

"Yeah," Edward said defensively, "sorry I don't stare at your ears all day. Why did you even do that to your ears? One per ear isn't really that bad, but what, four in one, two in the other? That's self-mutilation!"

"How?"

"You're stabbing your damn ears!"

Winry cocked her eyebrow. Edward seemed frantic. Could ear piercings _really _freak him out so much?

"Maybe I'm just holy." (Sorry, I wrote this after I saw Harry Potter. Best one yet, faithful to the book…they'd better not screw part two up, though…)

"Really, Winry? That's worse than Carl Azuz.(CNN Student News Anchor)"

"Are you blaming me for the fact that Mr. Anic makes us watch that? At least he isn't as bad as Mr. Dodson; he says CNN stands for Communist News Network. And Carl inspires me."  
"Carl's weird and Dodson's a gay, lonely guy that probably tries to… never mind. And I'm not sure that the fact that you're inspired by Carl Azuz is a good thing. And I know for a fact that the quote was coined by George Weasley."

"Would you shut up already? You dragged me to the freaking midnight premiere; don't complain that I'm quoting it."

(*)

Winry sat in Pinako's kitchen, banging her head against the table. Edward was at an XSU (Xerxes State…) lecture for promising medical students.

"Granny what am I going to do?"

"Start with stop banging your head. What's wrong?"

"Ed got a full fuc-"

"Language, Winry."

"Sorry. Edward got a full ride to XSU, the _most expensive_ college in Amestris."

"How is that bad?"

"I can't go there! I checked my college account, there isn't near enough!"

"Well I can't help,"

"I wasn't trying to-"

"Listen, I can't help, but your parents can." Pinako said seriously.

"Granny, how can they help they're…gone."

"You think I don't already know that? When your mother found out she was pregnant with you, she and your father started a side account for college. They added to it every week, and I haven't touched it. The account you know about I started. The last time I checked, if both accounts were combined, there's more than enough to send you to XSU."

Winry jumped over to the short woman and hugged her tightly.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You really are crazy about Ed, aren't you?"

Winry released Pinako and her cheeks turned slightly pink. She loved Pinako and was close to her, but there were some things that were so… awkward to talk about.

"Y-yeah."

"He's a good boy. He's got a stomach in him, and has a _short_ temper at times, but he's still a good person. He really does care."

"Hardly."

"How? Everytime we talk, he always finds a way to route the conversation to one about you. He's never truly steered his anger at you, unless you make fun."

"As far as he knows, we aren't going to college together!" Winry shrieked. Pinako sighed. Even though she'd lived with Winry until quite recently, she never could get used to the shrieking, the squealing…

"Oh, that? Like hell. Ed's known ever since you two applied! He asked me if there needed to be any financial support for you to go there. I said no, that it was covered. Apparently, his mother left a lot of money for him."

"R-really?"

"You have too _little_ faith in the boy."

"Granny, he isn't really that short. He's taller than me."

"I wasn't hinting that he was short. It's just that words like _short_ and _little _are good ways to describe him."

(*)

And there you go… after this, I'll type the next chapter, which is better. This one kinda sucks… and after that, another few chapters. This is turning out to be longer than I'd expected. Now I'm feeling like I'm trying too hard with some stuff. Am I being paranoid?


	13. Chapter 13: Crash Course

Okay, this chapter, Ed was originally going to convert to Christianity, but I don't wanna necessarily bring religion into this, and… I just dunno! This is really delaying my typing! I can't decide, dammit! Okay, I'm not going to add the religion thing… but then it would be short! Okay, because of the fact that it's not being added, this will just be short! GOD I HATE MN! Only smart people, by whom I mean _women_, will understand! GRRRRR. Okay, I have decided that religion will be mentioned, but no conversions. Sorry for the rant…

(*)

"So what's the point of Christmas? Jack up electricity bills, bring trees inside and spend money on people?" Edward watched Winry decorate the tree she'd _forced _him to buy. The tree_ he'd _end up taking out. The tree that would shed its little devil-needles _he'd _end up being forced to vacuum. He'd tried to convince Winry to get a plastic tree,

"_No, Ed! I've always had a real tree!"_

"Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus."

"So basically every store in the world closes on December 25th just because of some guy that lived 2000 years ago?"

Winry shook her head. There was no convincing Ed, who had to see to believe, that the man that did indeed live 2000 years ago had any divineness or any supernatural qualities.

"Yes, Edward."

"This has been a good year, you know?" Edward cleverly changed the subject. He didn't want to evoke Winry's wrath by further arguing. The first time they argued about religion…let's just say Ed was still sore. It was only because of Winry's lethal wrench that she won all of the arguments.

"How so?"

"I don't know, a lot of good stuff has happened."

"Like…?"

"Well, Teach got me my Fender."

"And a _guitar _made your year?"

"Partly. I met good people."

"Like who?" Edward knew what she was getting at. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of him giving in so easily. He knew what he was about to do was dangerous, but he loved risk. Practically thrived on it. He strummed on his old guitar, trying to get a particularly difficult song right.

"Well, Hilary Duff. She's really nice and inspiring. Hot, too." Wrench out of sight, Winry improvised. Width Edward's guitar. Winry pulled the guitar from Edward's grasp and brought it down onto his head. Splinters flew everywhere and Winry threw the neck aside.

"What the hell? You broke my fucking guitar!"

"Oh, did I? At least it wasn't you precious fender! Maybe you should go complain to your girlfriend Hilary about it!" Winry stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Edward groaned, rubbing his head. He took his phone and dialed the one person's number who knew girls better than a girl who would inevitably tell Winry like Rebecca did.

"Al?" Edward asked in a weak voice.

"What is it, Brother? You sound tired or hurt."

"Winry's gonna be the death of me."

"What did you do?"

"What did _I_ do? She broke my guitar! And not just anywhere, on my damn head! Whose side are you on, anyway? _She _tried to kill _me!"_

"I'm sure she had a good reason. What did you do?"

"Well, we were talking, and I said it was a good year. She asked why, I talked about my fender, and I said I met good people. She asked who, I said Hilary Duff."

"What else did you say? She wouldn't have gotten mad just about that."

"Well, I said Hilary was inspiring and nice, then after I sad she was hot, Winry tried to kill me!"

Edward heard Al groan.

"Brother, you really are an idiot! You don't just say that another girl's hot in front of your girlfriend!"

"I wasn't totally serious! I think she's married, or at least that's what Winry said a while ago. But like I'd even have a chance with her? Just tell me how to fix this! I'll take the lecture from you later!"

"Go wherever she went and say. You forgot to mention the biggest factor."

"What is that?"

"For someone who got a full ride to XSU, you really are stupid, aren't you? Winry! She's the biggest factor!"

"But she broke my damn guitar!"

"Get over it and fix this!" Before waiting for further argument, Al hung up. Edward pulled himself off of the floor and knocked on the bedroom door. He tried to knob, but as luck would have it, it was locked.

"Winry, open the door."

"Go away."

"No!" Edward yelled.

"What the hell do you want?"

"In! Now unlock the door, or I'll break it down!"

"You will not!"

Edward sighed and walked to the other opposite end of the hall and charged. At the last second, Winry opened the door, so instead of hitting the wood, he hit her. Both grunted when they hit, and there was a loud thump when they hit floor.

"You IDIOT!"

"You usually don't open the door so easily!"

"You never try to charge so early! Now get the hell off of me!" Winry shrieked.

"No, not unt-"

"EDWARD ELRIC, GET THE HELL OFF ME BEFORE I REALLY DO KILL YOU!"

Winry was beginning to remind him more and more of Izumi…

"Damn, woman! It was you, okay? I figured you knew, you were giving me the third degree! You're the biggest factor in the beastliness of the year!"

(*)

The crash part was fun to write. I saw this commercial for some poor kid, and the narrator person said "The saddest thing is, her favorite food is Chef Boyardee…" Im like, "That's MY favorite!" Sorry, felt like sharing that with ya… next up, I'll do another chap for this. After that, maybe some EE…or something, idk, I'm tired and pissed…


	14. Chapter 14: Always?

Music inspires me a lot, and it inspired this chapter… I'm not gonna do a big long intro this time…

(*)

"_Screw you!" Edward yelled. He could practically taste the venom in his words. He and Winry had been fighting for a while, and neither could recall what had started the argument. All either of them knew was that they weren't letting up._

"_Oh, you wish you could!"_

"_No, that's the last thing I'd want to do, you fucking idiot!"_

"_I don't see why I put up with you! You're the biggest egoistical douche I've ever met!"_

"_Then why don't you just get the hell out?"_

"_I will! I'm tired of seeing your fucking face every day!"_

_Winry stomped to the bedroom and grabbed her suitcase out of the closet. She carelessly threw clothes and other belongings into it._

"_I'll be back later to get the rest!"_

"_Finally! I'll be glad to see your shit gone!"_

_Winry stormed out of the apartment and Edward heard her start her car. Almost as soon as it started, he saw the little blue car speed away. He threw himself onto the couch and turned on the T.V. Then he heard a loud crash. He opened the front door and walked down the driveway, staring in horror at the car smashed into the driver's side of a little blue car._

_Winry's little blue car._

_He ran to the cars and screamed at the other driver to back up. Through the shattered window, Edward could see blood…_

"_Winry? Winry! WINRY!" Edward screamed at the top of his lungs as Winry's lifeless body fell into his arms._

Edward sat up in horror. His heart was racing, ears pounding. He looked next to him to see an empty space.

"No…"

He ran into the living room to see Winry sitting on the couch sipping tea.

"You're up early." She said cheerily.

Edward ran to her and gripped her in such a tight hug; he thought he would crush her. He loosened his grip, but only just.

"Let go! I can't breathe!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry? What for?"

"So sorry,"

"Ed, what did you do this time?"

Edward took a deep breath and rested his head on the back of the couch.

_It was just a dream…_

"I just… had a really bad dream."

"What was it about?"

How the hell did she do it? No matter what it was about, she could always get him to talk. Always. He'd try to show hesitation, but always failed.

"We had a fight."

"A fight? That's it? Ed, we fight all the time."

"No, I'm serious. This was a fight fight. Not like the arguments we have. Compared to how we are, this was Arma-freaking-geddon. I said stuff I never want to say to you, and you said stuff I never want to hear. You got your stuff and you were on your way to Granny's any you were in a bad wreck. Can I watch T.V. with you?"

"I thought you loved your precious sleep."

"Yeah, well I love you more, and apparently, it took that dream to understand that."

"Well, sit down. Commercials are almost over."

"You aren't watching soaps, are you?" Edward asked, sitting on the soft couch.

"No. Soaps are cliché and have bad actors. I'm watching cartoons." Winry said matter-of-factly as she sat on Edward's lap.

"And that's why I fell for you."

"Why?"

"Cartoons."

(*)

If you couldn't guess, the song that inspired this was Just a Dream. I usually hate that genre, but that song isn't that bad. Plus the guys in my class sing that all the time.


	15. Chapter 15: Pumpkin Eater

I'm not sure what exactly inspired this chapter. All I know is I was waiting for a burger when I wrote it. It's 1:41 on Thursday, which means Christmas break is ending soon. Tuesday I've got to go back to school, which will mean less updates, but it'll hopefully be worth it if I ace algebra this quarter…

(*)

"Hey, Winry?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got an important question for you. I've wanted to ask you for a long time, and it's a little hard for me. I really wished I would have asked you this a really long time ago…"

"What is it, Ed?"

"Are you-"

"Yeah…?"

"Let me finish!"

"Okay, fine. Tell me."

"Are you prepared to be the Godfocker?"

"Ed! You saw that without me?"

"Nah, we're seeing it tonight. The Bastard and Riza invited us, and I knew you wanted to see it, so I said yeah. To Riza, not the Bastard."

"Yeah, let me go grab my jacket." Winry said, heading down the hall.

"Just as a warning, Bastard lives next door now."

"Roy and Riza moved here?" Winry asked, poking her head around the corner.

"Yeah. Terrible, isn't it?"

(*)

"Winry! Hurry up! The movie's gonna start soon!" Edward yelled. Riza sat it the car, waiting for Roy. Edward, in his impatience, had gotten out.

"Winry! Are you rea…dy…?"

Edward walked into the apartment complex's lounge to see Winry pull away from Roy.

"What the hell's going on here?" He asked in a frighteningly low, calm tone.

"Ed! Roy-" Edward held up a hand to silence Winry. He focused on Roy and walked up to him, inches from his face.

"What the hell's going on, you bastard?" He growled.

"Chill, Pipsqueak. I found her iPod and she hugged me. End of story."

"Then why don't I believe you? Oh yeah, 'cause you had your hands all over my girlfriend!"

"Ed-" Winry began.

"Look, believe me or not, Edward. But at least have faith in Winry. If I cheated…no telling what Riza would do. Probably something along the lines of chopping off my balls and putting them in a blender…anyway, we need to go. Movie starts at seven and it's a quarter till. Afterward, I wanna make a snowman. Supposed to heat up tomorrow. Gotta get at least one good snowman in."

"Thanks again, Roy."

"Sure thing."

"Winry, I-"

"We'll talk after the movie." Winry said bitterly.

(*)

"Winry, come on! You said we'd talk after the movie! I waited through the most awkward carried I've ever been on so we could talk!" Edward leaned across the table. After dropping Roy and Riza off, Edward drove to Starbucks before Winry could get out of the car.

Winry snapped her head to face Edward.

"You seriously think I'd cheat on you?"

"You were God knows how close to that bastard and when I came in, you pulled away! What was I supposed to think?" Edward whisper-yelled defensively.

"Oh, I don't know, that I could say no?"

"But-"

"Yeah, I've had bad luck with that kind of thing. I don't need you to remind me." Winry said quietly, shoving past Edward. Edward sighed and hung his head for a split second.

"She's going to be the death of me…"

Knowing it wouldn't be best for his personal safety to follow Winry, he called her, following at a safe distance.

_You take the breath right out of me, you left a hole where my heart should be, You've gotta fight just to make it through, 'cause I will be the death of you_

"What?"

"When did you change the ringtone I set?"

"After my phone rang during church and Sexy Back played!"

"That was your own fault for not putting it on silent!"

"Whatever. Did you need something?"

"Yeah. To talk to you."

"We can talk at home."

Edward rushed up and grabbed Winry's arm, knowing he was now in mortal danger.

"Let go. I said we could talk at home."

"No, Winry. I'm tired of being a lazy asshole. We're talking now."

"You thought I'd cheat on you."

"For the millionth time, I'm sorry! I wouldn't put it past that bastard." Edward said.

"I know. Can we go home?"

"Yeah." Edward studied Winry. She wasn't hitting him or screaming her head off. She was hurt, and Ed wanted to die. It was because of him. He'd have to fix this. And fast.

(*)

Right in the middle of writing this, my computer crashed. Thank God for auto save, am I right? I'm not going to do anymore today 'cause the K-State vs. Syracuse game's on. GO WILDCATS! And KMC Crusaders…and RCS Ravens… XD


	16. Chapter 16: The Farthest Fucking Thing

Well, what can I say but, I love MLK. I'm watching That 70's Show. Apparently, there's like, a 10 year old rapper now. Can't spell 'crap without rap'. I got a Hawthorne Heights Cd yesterday. HH is coming to Wichita. BUT to a pub I can't go in (Damn those rules) BUT! Jt Woodruff (Lead singer) said they would come out, meet me, get a pic and autograph! So, yeah. I'm fucking psyched. Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!

(*)

"Al, I really have done it this time." Edward groaned.

"Oh, God. What exactly did you do?"

"I uh, mighta accused Win of cheating."

"You _idiot_! With who?"

Now came the worst part. Winry was too upset to kill Ed. Al, on the other hand, wasn't, despite the fact that it was two a.m. on a school night.

"With Mustang." Ed whispered.

"I can't believe we're even related! How's Winry?"

"She's talking, but really upset. She's trying to act like nothing's wrong, but…We aren't even fighting, Al. Why am I such a screw up? I mean, I don't want to be some mushy gushy romantic. That's not me. That's you. But seriously, Al. I don't want this to end. Much less like this."

"Edward, you don't have to worry about Winry killing you. I will."

"Alphonse, she was hugging the bastard, and pulled away when I walked in. What was I suppose to think?"

"That Roy did something nice." Alphonse argued.

"But it's never happened before. It was a fluke."

"Honestly, Ed, I don't care if Roy only did one thing nice in his life. I swear, if you screw this up, and I mean really screw it up, I will kill you."

"I don't want to screw it up, either! I've said sorry a thousand times."

"Saying sorry isn't going to solve anything, Ed. Do something for her, but not like it's a bribe. Forget it, I'll just talk to her."

"Okay…but it's midnight."

"Not now! At school tomorrow. Don't tlak about it, you'll just screw things up even more."

"Hey! You need to respect me! I'm your older brother! And that offended me!" Edward yelled.

"Yeah, well, it serves you right."

"Al, I can't screw this up," Edward repeated, " I don't know how she did it. She got me to talk about the accident."

"You told her? When?"

"The day after we met. I don't know how she did it. Either way, she'd have gotten me to tell her by now if I hadn't already. Mustang still only knows the bare details."

"Alright. Now I'm going to bed. I've got a killer calc test tomorrow and Teacher will break my phone if she catches me talking to you."

Alphonse hung up, leaving Edward with a long drawn out, endless tone.

"What" No goodbye? Whatever happened to brotherly love?"

Edward tossed his phone aside. As he had done many nights before, he pondered how Winry had gotten him to talk. The fact that he'd trusted her at all was a shock in itself. But how did he know he could trust her? After the many nights he pondered, he never could come up with an explanation. It just happened.

(*)

"I can't believe I got us booked!" Edward said excitedly. On the advice of Al, Ed took Winry to dinner. And with the help of Alphonse, one of the best restaurants in town.

Winry's face paled. She didn't look sick. She looked petrified.

"I want to leave."

"What? Why? You're always talking about wanting to come here!"

"Ed, please. I want to leave."

"We haven't even gotten our food yet!"

Edward noticed Winry's gaze and followed it. He furrowed his eyebrows, and then turned back to Winry.

"What?"

"I just d-don't feel well."

"You were perfectly fine a couple of minutes ago! It's not the week of hell…what's up?"

"Winry? Winry Rockbell?" A smiling man, in his early twenties approached. Winry rubbed her neck and looked away.

"I'd know your eyes anywhere! They've got to be the bluest I've ever seen! So how've you been?"

Winry stood abruptly and headed to the bathroom. Both Edward and the man stared in confusion.

"So are you-"

"I'm Winry's boyfriend. What about you?" Edward asked suspiciously.

"I'm Dalton, a fr-"

Dalton was interrupted when Edward stood, knocking his chair back.

"Listen here you sick son of a bitch. I know what you did, and I know you do too. If you go anywhere near Winry, I will kill you. I'm so damn tempted to right now! But the only thing I'm gonna do is give you something." Edward threw a hard punch at Dalton, breaking his nose.

"And don't give me shit saying you're a family friend. You're the farthest fucking thing."

A waiter cautiously approached Edward as Dalton stumbled out. Without asking for his bill, Ed handed him his credit card. The waiter quickly returned, handing the card back.

"Win? Are you okay?" Edward knocked on the restroom door.

"No."

Not caring whether or not anyone else was in the restroom, he entered. Winry stood hanging her head over the sink. Her mascara had smeared, she'd been sobbing. It only made Edward hate the bastard more.

""How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"No you aren't! Winry, I know who he was. Don't act like you're okay, because you aren't. If I were you, I'd be a fucking mess right now. I don't blame you for being a wreck."

"I thought I was safe from him!" Edward pulled Winry into a tight embrace.

"You are. A long as I'm here. In other words, you always will be."

"You don't know that." Winry sniffled.

"Yes I do. I threatened him and broke his nose. Please don't kill me!"

"Ed…." Winry loosely put her arms around Edward.

"Don't tell me I was stupid by doing that. He's even more a bastard than Mustang. He deserved it."

"Thank you." Winry whispered.

"Whenever, wherever. Unless I'm asleep or eating." Edward grinned.

"I'm sorry this night sucks ass."

"It isn't your fault." Winry said, wiping her eyes. "Is he gone?"

"Yeah. After I punched him, he left. I paid, you ready to go home?"

Winry nodded. "I'm sorry, Ed. You-"

"Don't worry about it, Win. We can order take out or pizza."

When the two emerged from the restroom, they got many strange looks. One man was whispering and glaring. Edward handled it the best he could without hitting him. He flipped him off.

(*)

"Hey, I need to go to the store. I'll be back soon." Edward said. He'd lost a lot of sleep the previous night. He could tell that Winry hadn't slept well. He was going to take care of this.

"Hey Granny? Do you remember that Regina lady? She had a son named Dalton."

"Yes, why?"

"I hear that Dalton's in town. What's their last name?"

"Johnson. Why?"

"Win was talking about them."

(*)

"How much do you know?"

"Are you going to hit me again?"

"Not unless you give me a reason to. Now how-"

"I was a curious kid. That kind of thing happens a lot. Dude, don't blame me."

"Fuck off. You knew exactly what you were doing. What I don't get is how you could do that to her. She was five!"

"So what if I did? What are you going to do?" Dalton asked tiredly.

" You don't want to know."

"I'm surprised Winry remembered."

"Yeah, well she did! You really screwed her up, you know."

"Look. I ain't proud of what I did. She was like my little sister. My mom was abusive."

"And that makes it okay? Taking it out on an innocent little girl."

"I never said it made it okay." Dalton whispered.

"How many others?"

"Zero."

Edward nodded.

"You're just visiting Central, right?"

"Yeah. I live in Dublith. Dude, at least tell her I'm sorry."

"No."

"Don't you want to know what happened? Isn't that why you're here? To find out if I got to her."

"Honestly, I could care less."

"But you're her boyfriend, right? Don't you think that's something you'd want-"

"Look, you bastard, I wouldn't care if she had sex with a guy the day we met. Makes no difference to me. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Change of plans," Edward said, "you're leaving tonight."

"What? You going to make me?"

"If I have to, I will."

Edward slammed the motel room door. He took the steps two at a time to his car, thrust the key into the ignition and sped back home.

(*)

Alrighty, there you go. This is becoming an outlet for me.

I'm working on a novel, now. It's called To Write Love on Her Arms. I'm thinking of redoing Cut My Wrists to a more realistic thing. I'm still working on it; I'm not going to abandon it. I have to leave soon, so this is it on updates. iAdios!


	17. Chapter 17: Ed's poor nose

Okay, now I know that there IS a God. Second snow day of the school year! Looks kinda like a freaking blizzard out there. But I dunno…the only experience with seeing a blizzard was on Rugrats…So, Who do YOU think is gonna win the Super Bowl?

(*)

Roy Mustang held legendary Super Bowl parties. There was always a ton of great food, and one of the party goers was always sure to bring beer. He was always the one to organize and set up the parties, but he never actually hosted them. They were always at Riza's mansion. Nobody truly understood why exactly Riza had moved in with Roy. Roy lived in a small apartment, while Riza had lived in a mansion.

Since the class members had known each other basically since preschool, they all showed up. Roy's Super Bowl party was a chance for everybody to catch up with one another. School was hectic and they'd gradually grow apart. The senior class was unusually close; they were quite like a really big family.

Everyone wanted the party to be memorable. They would all be going off to college that August. Some would be going to XSU, some CU, and some Northface, the military academy of Amestris, and other schools. Nobody could throw a party like Roy. No one even tried.

It wasn't long after the party started that Roy and Riza 'abandoned' the party. Not long after, Havoc and Rebecca followed suit. Edward, however, wasn't abandoning the food. Kickoff was an hour away; nobody was in any particular rush.

"Hey babe." A new guy, Cody Fisher, stood next to Winry, flashing a bright white smile. Ignoring the oblivious Elric who sat next to her, talking to Russell Tringham, he put his hand on her shoulder. She furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged it off. Chuckling, he put his hand back, this time closer to Winry's neck.

"What do you say we leave this lame-ass party and go have some_ real _fun?"

"Get your hand off me."

"Aw, come on babe, don't be like that!"

Winry sighed. She really didn't want to do it, but at the same time, she did. Winry kicked Edward, who snapped his head in Winry's direction.

"Wha-"

Edward noticed Cody's hand. On HIS Winry. HIS girlfriend. Close to the back of her neck. HIS spot. Close to the opening of the loose jersey she was wearing.

"Get your hand off her or I'll do it for you." Ed spat.

Cody raised his hands in mock surrender.

"No need for violence. What are you, her brother?"

"I'm her boyfriend, jackass." Edward stood, stepping in front of Winry.

"Oh yeah! You two live together, right? Nice, man. You get some every night?"

Edward's eye twitched. Russell and Winry glanced at each other nervously.

"If I were you, I'd be leaving the party now." Russell said.

"Ed, let it go." Winry grabbed Edward's hand.

"Whoo! Sad day when a girl likes a stranger more than the boyfriend she lives with."

Winry cocked an eyebrow and let Edward's hand drop at his side.

"Hey, man. I agree with Tringham. " Kimbly cocked his head in Cody's direction.

"Yeah. Don't mess with Elric's girl." Archer agreed.

Cody rolled his eyes.

"You can't really be talking, Archie. Aren't you a date rapist?"

"You can't prove it. Little brat looks nothing like me!" Archer hissed.

"WOULD EVERYONE STOP CHANGING THE DAMN SUBJECT?"

"You don't want to be around a guy with anger issues, babe."

"Stop. Calling. Her. Babe."

Winry and Russell grabbed Edward's arms. Ed's face had turned a deep shade of red.

"Let go of me."

"No." Russell and Winry answered simultaneously.

Cody glanced at a clock.

"Kickoff soon. Better hurry if you want a be- I mean, good TV." He smiled and slipped away.

(*)

"You okay, Ed?"

"Just peachy."

"You haven't touched your food…"

"I'm pissed, okay?" Edward groaned.

"And you have a right to be, Ed."

"Who are you betting on?" Ed averted his gaze.

"Steelers. But Ed, really. It's okay to be angry."

"And there's the therapist quality again."

"Ed."

"He was hitting on you and had his hands all fucking over you! You're mine!"

"I'm a possession?" Winry asked.

"Well, no. But you're still mine!"

"I'm not trying to get you to justify, Edward. But you didn't have to fight your way out."

"I didn't!"

"But you were going to." Winry argued.

"Hey lovebirds." Paninya popped up behind the couch. "I heard about you almost getting into a fight, Eddy."

"He was being a jackass!"

"Yeah, yeah," Paninya waved her hand, "I want the dirt. What did he do?"

"He put his hand on my shoulder, I shrug-"

"UGH!"

"-ged it off, he put it back,"

"What was he trying to –"

"Take a fucking guess!" Ed spat.

"oooohhh… So then what?"

"Win kicked me and I almost killed the jackass!"

"Russ and I had to hol-"

"THAT'S where Russ went? He was going to get food and was gone a long time. All he said was that Ed almost got into another fight."

"_Another?"_

"You know, we're all out of cookies, let me go get some!" Winry grabbed the neck of Edward's tee and pulled him back onto the couch.

"What. Fight?"

"This one's a sweet one, Win! Don't kill poor Goldilocks!"

"What. Fight?"

Paninya sighed.

"A junior said Eddy was in it for the sex and he called you a slut. Didn't you wonder where the dent in Denny's locker came from?"

Winry rubbed her temples.

"Come on, kiss and make up!"

"Make up for what? We aren't fighting, Win's just mad. Again."

"I'm not mad. I'm just annoyed."

"Cute couple," Paninya patted Ed and Winry on the head, "stay outta trouble."

(*)

Winry grunted, picking up a full laundry basket. She set it on her hip and started up the stairs, turning off the lights. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, thinking she'd heard a creak behind her. She shook her head and continued her way up.

"Ha!" A pair of arms latched around Winry's waist. She swung the basket around and she heard a crack as it came into contact with the face. She kicked the arms' owner's stomach and cringed as the person fell to the bottom of the stairs.

"Damn woman…death of me…"

"Ed?"

"What did I do? I haven't done anything to piss you off yet!"

"You snuck up behind me!"

"Well who else could it have been?" Edward yelled.

"There have been break-ins! And I didn't know you were even home."

"Shit, I think you broke my nose!"

"ed, I didn't punch you," Winry turned the light on. Edward held his nose, blood and all.

"Come here. I'm good at setting noses."

"No way in HELL!" Edward yelled.

"Come on. You aren't going around with a broken nose."

"I'll go to the ER."

"You would _pay _for something I can do?"

"I've got insurance!"

"Ed, I honestly don't care. What would you even say?"

"I would tell what happened."

"You'd be surprised how many noses I set at RHS."

"Why did you set noses?"

"Guys fought a lot."

"You hung around guys?"

"No, I hung around aliens." Winry said.

Edward glared.

"Fine."

(*)

Winry sat curled up on the couch, watching 'The Way She Feels' music video on youtube."

"Whazzat?"

_And she closed her eyes, found relief in a knife…_

"Watching a music video."

_The blood flows as she cries..._

"About cutters. Wow."

"I love the song and the video."

"Cutters are just freaks-"

"No they aren't, Edward! And listen. People who cut feel alone…like there's no way out."

"Win… God, tell me I'm wrong."

Edward turned Winry's wrist over. Barely visible were light white scars across her wrist. On instinct, Winry yanked her wrist away.

"Winry…"

"I had a rough time in 8th grade, okay?"

(*)

My mom will be coming home soon, so…I'll update later this afternoon.


	18. Chapter 18: The Way She Feels

I actually like Kansas' bipolar weather now… we got out at 2! Plus we most likely won't have school tomorrow! So guess what? MORE UPDATES! I've realized how many inconsistencies there are. And since I'm a lazy-ass 14 year old (I'M NOT FAT! I'm underweight…XD) I won't fix them. Sorry!

(*)

"So…why? I-I mean…how? How could it be so bad as to cut yourself?"

"In 8th grade, Mom's and Dad's deaths were really bothering me. And the whole I'm-a-freak-vulnerable-enough-to get-molested thing."

"Please…just never do it again," Ed pleaded.

"I've been clean since January 18th,"

"This year?"

"Hell no! In eighth grade!"

"Hey…I wanna see the whole video. Start it over."

Winry smiled and pressed play.

(*)

"Happy ending!" Edward clapped childishly.

"Yeah." Winry closed her laptop and set it aside.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Like what?"

"Something like , oh I dunno, were you a guy at some point?"

Winry furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ive got no idea what you mean, Edward." Winry sighed. "What about you?"

"_Me?_ I told you mine the day after we met! Don't turn this around on me!"

"I told you mine a couple of weeks after homecoming! And about 10 minutes ago, I told you another!"

Edward shook his head and stood.

"All you are is a shock!"

"What th-"

"I feel like I know you, then bam! Something entirely fucking new!"

"Then I'm sorry! I apologize for hating to talk about the bullshit that's followed me everywhere!"

"But you trust me, don't you?" Ed yelled. He looked away when tears started to well up in Winry's eyes.

"I trust you with my life, Edward! But just because I do doesn't mean I want to talk about that stuff!"

"Well don't you think I should know those things?" Edward softened his voice. He couldn't say he was surprised that Winry had started to cry. He was upset too, and felt a lump in his throat. He took deep breaths, unwilling to let Winry see him cry.

"Please. Just leave me alone."

"No." Edward, after getting a facebook, learned that it was quite educational. He'd seen Winry 'like' The 'when she's mad, follow her' thing.

"Just let it go. I'm fine." Winry whispered. She tried getting past Ed, but he blocked her.

"No!" Edward grabbed Winry's wrist. "You're a shock, yeah. But that's not always bad! Yeah, you're a handful…but it makes me feel like _I_ have a purpose. You didn't even mention all of the good qualities."

"Like I have any." Winry scoffed.

"Winry… you're smart, beautiful, and funny, you're a good cook, you're great with kids, and you're a great mechanic…that's not even a fraction of them, Win. We both know that I'm a fail with the romancy stuff. But I'd rather sit at home with you than go to a game or anything. There's still a lot I'm figuring out, but that doesn't mean I don't get you at all."

"Im not beautiful."

"Yes you are! You know that small smile when you think something's cute or sweet? That can melt butter. And me."

"But I'm always covered in grease."

"So? That's who you are, Win."

"Stop it, Ed."

"Fuck no! I- come on."

Edward led Winry by hand into their room. He snatched her iPod off of their dresser. He punched in her passcode.

"You know my passcode?"

"Please. I knew it the day after we met. Never told me you were actually a Hilary Duff fan, Win."

Edward tapped around until he found the 'The Way She Feels' music video.

"I don't think of that guy as her dad." Winry whispered.

"Me neither. In your story, it's me."

(*)

Sorry. I feel really nauseous right now. This is way shorter than I want it to be. I know that there are 2 chapters left…that's it.

PAZ A CABO!


	19. Chapter 19: I'm Not Going Anywhere

Well this is just dandy. I've literally got NOTHING. But…I did just get a laptop. Down side? No internet yet. *sigh* Anyway…it's 11P.M. right now…let's see how long it takes me to come up with something.

Edward stared at Winry lying next to him, sound asleep. She was so peaceful. Carefully, Ed moved Winry's wrist so that he could see it. 13. 13 scars covered her wrist. 13 times she'd hurt herself. 13 times she'd felt like shit. 13 times Edward wished he could have been there.

Ed ran his thumb over the scars, causing Winry to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at Edward.

"Hey."

Ed's mouth curled up into a small smile.

"What time is it?" Inry craned her neck to the clock on the dresser.

"Uhh…7 A.M." Ed said.

"I can read, Ed."

"Well sorry! I was just trying to be helpful!"

"Oh bull. Shit! What the hell was that?" Ed screamed at the T.V.

"No, Granny. Ed's just mad that his bracket's falling apart. (mine's actually doing really well…)

"Oh, fuck you! You're not reffing a rec center game, you moron!"

"Yeah, things are great Granny. Money's good, school's good, and we're good" Winry smiled softly at Ed, who was completely absorbed into the game.

The T.V. cut to a commercial and Ed jogged into the kitchen. Oblivious to Winry being on the phone, he asked,

"Store?"

Winry nodded and motioned for Ed to hand her the list.

"Good. We're out of condoms."

Winry's face paled and she dropped her phone. She scrambled to disconnect the call.

"Whoa. You're jumpy." Ed laughed.

"Edward, I was on the phone with Granny!"

"Aw shit. You couldn't have told me?"

"Well if you paid the slightest bit of attention,"

"Who gives a shit anyway? You're legally an adult and you don't live there anymore." Ed said calmly.

"Ed, I give a shit! She's my grandmother for God's sake!"

Edward erupted in laughter.

"God my ass."

"Figure of speech. And it wouldn't hurt if you actually believed in something, you know." Winry said in an equally calm tone.

"Yeah, I believe in stuff. Just not any of that bullshit. Can I go to the store?"

"No."

"Why? You're always complaining I don't do anything like that! Don't you trust me?"

"Ed, I trust you. Just not with grocery shopping. You'd just get junk food."

"B.S. I'd get apples for you to make pie! Apples are healthy!"

"No."

"Is it gonna be like this for the rest of my freaking life?"

"Not unless-"

"Don't get your hopes up," Ed said with a smile, "I'm sticking around for good."

I swear to God, I had a ton more. Buuuutttt…..i uh..lost it… believe me, I'm feeling the pain. I lost 500 of my songs an 145 apps. So ive got a ton of song downloads and I really don't know what I'm gonna do about the apps… I really hope you guys enjoy this (Even though it sucks!)because it's done. I've kind of gotten out of fanfiction, and I'm focusing on my novel. You guys have been great, really. I love all of the reviews, so even in say, months or years, I'll still get that little jump when I see a review. LOVE YOUALL!


End file.
